One of our Jelly Bean books David the Pizzly Bear has been awarded a red ribbon in the Wishing Shelf awards. Well done, Molly Arbuthnott and Camilla Seddon.
Archive for Book Covers
Jelly Bean Self-Publishing is delighted to have been awarded Self-Publishing Company of the Year at the 2020 Welsh Enterprise awards.
The Welsh Enterprise awards recognise the contribution of small to medium sized businesses to the Welsh economy.
Since its inception in 2013, Jelly Bean Self-Publishing has provided a range of publishing services to independent authors all around the world. Head of Publishing Shaun Russell is delighted to have received the commendation:
“Self-publishing has grown enormously as an industry over recent years. Thanks to the Internet, the rise of eBooks, and the refinement of Print on Demand technology, it is now viable both economically and practically for independent authors to find engaged readerships in an incredible variety of ways.”
“It’s this flexibility that is at the heart of self-publishing’s ever-increasing success, and it is something that we have always put at the heart of what we do. We never try to pigeonhole our authors or force them into a one-size fits arrangements. We tailor our work to an author’s needs, budgets and ambitions.”
“And whatever the services they require, we provide them to the same standards as we do for our award-winning traditional imprint Candy Jar Books. Not only is this, of course, only fair to the author, it’s an investment in the long-term viability of self-publishing as an industry.”
“We are delighted SME News has recognised our efforts to provide a quality self-publishing service. We see it not only as recognition for ourselves, but a testament to the many companies around the country that are working so hard to establish self-publishing as a viable route to readership for independent authors, as part of the wider publishing environment.”
“Mark my words, thanks to these efforts, in the coming years you will read more and more about authors finding success through self-publishing.”
Jelly Bean is pleased to announce its sixth ‘Book of the Month’, The Haunted Staircase by Devika Rosamund. This mind-
However, unlike the books of E Nesbit and Enid Blyton, The Haunted Staircase takes both the reader and the characters back to a realistic portrayal of Victorian servitude. Similar to Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs, this book is a fascinating depiction of a bygone world, but with an added twist! What if children from the twenty-
Devika wanted to combine today’s progressive storylines, with the kind of books she used to read as a child. She says: “I always intended to write a children’s novel for 9 to 12 year olds that involved ghosts, magic and adventure, but I wanted it to be educational and fair representation of life in service.”
The characters use a magic spell to travel back in time where they investigate the mysterious death of a Victorian servant girl. For authenticity, Devika undertook a great deal of research about Victorian service. In particular, how so-
Devika is also a talented artist and was pleased when Candy Jar suggested including her artwork in The Haunted Staircase. She concludes: “I had a lot of fun illustrating the story myself and I hope that my writing and simple illustrations will inspire young readers to write and illustrate their own stories. I am grateful to my editor, Shaun Russell, for improving my ghost story by adding humour. I wanted the ghost to be a pleasant character, rather than an evil one, and I always make sure my stories have happy endings. I like to leave young readers with a sense of satisfaction that all the problems are solved in the end.”
The Haunted Staircase can be purchased from here.
Do me a quick favour: Google ‘lousy book covers’.
You’re welcome — firstly for all for the hours of entertainment I’ve just provided, but secondly, and far more importantly, for warning you against the single biggest and most common mistake self-published authors make.
No matter how the old saying goes, everyone judges a book by its cover. It may not be fair, but it’s absolutely true. Pick one of the covers you’ve just seen. Imagine if that had been for the first edition of, say, The Great Gatsby. I think if that were the case it’s a pretty safe bet that old Gatsby wouldn’t be all he’s considered to be today.
Now, we shouldn’t be too critical of the unfortunate authors who’ve found themselves featured in such lists. Publishing a book yourself can be a daunting process, and there’s a lot more to consider than most first-time authors expect. It’s also fair to say that many literary minded people are perhaps not so astute when it comes to judging design. And when you’ve already handed over your hard earned cash to a designer only to be presented with, well, whatever some of those covers are supposed to be, I think some self-rationalisation is understandable.
This is why it’s so important to ensure that the design of your book cover is in good hands before you part with your money. At Jelly Bean Self-Publishing, we employ the same cover designers as those who work with our sister imprint, award-winning independent publisher Candy Jar Books, ensuring cover art of the highest standard. You put your name to the words; our artists put theirs to the art; we stake our professional reputation on the finished product. Together, we’ll try and stay laughing at those ‘lousy cover’ lists — not featuring on them.
Our Books
June 30, 2023Blog About Writing / Jelly Bean News / Self Publish Your Own Book / Self-Publishing Facts* In 2013 One Woman’s War won the non-fiction 2012/2013 award at the People’s Book Prize. * In 2016 and 2023 Candy Jar was shortlisted for The Cardiff Life Awards. This ceremony celebrates the best business in Cardiff, applauding what they have achieved in the past year and encouraging them to go further in the […] [...]
May 22, 2023Blog About Writing / Writing TipsIf you’ve reached the point where you’ve needed to consider how to end your piece of writing then congratulations are in order; you’ve nearly finished that labour of love which has taken hours, weeks or sometimes even years to complete. Yet this seemingly rewarding part of the process can actually cause no end of trouble […] [...]
April 1, 2023Blog About Writing / Writing Tips‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God,’ or so it seems according to John 1:1 of the King James Bible. If you were to read Genesis it states: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Now, I am not a religious person […] [...]
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